Hatching a Plan...

On Monday the 14th, I am going to bring the issue of chicken-keeping before the City Council. Here is the bulk of my proposal...

If you are interested in being allowed to have chickens in town, please come to the meeting to show your support. From what I understand, If there is support for it, and they think its a good idea, then at the next meeting they will move to vote on it. 

Local Missouri Ordinances Concerning Urban Chickens:

Kansas City: up to 15 chickens, enclosure required, no loud roosters, must be kept clean and sanitary.

Independence: up to 20 chickens, no foul odors, must be kept clean and sanitary.

Raytown: up to 4 chickens, must be kept 100 feet away from nearest neighbor, no foul odors.

Parkville: up to 15 chickens

Belton: up to 4 chickens per acre or part of an acre

Lee’s Summit: up to 6 chickens, no roosters, enclosed at all times, inside henhouse in non-daylight hours, allows for the slaughter of chickens in enclosed area out of public view.

Proposal for Urban Chickens in Pleasant Hill:

1. Allow up to 10 chickens (hens only, no roosters)

2. Must be enclosed at all times

3. Enclosure and Henhouse/Coop must be kept clean and sanitary.

4. Residents of multi-family homes/apartments/duplexes/etc would need permission from landlord and other residents who share the complex.

5. The city could supply permits for a $5­-$10 annual fee to bring in revenue.

    

Benefits of Urban Chickens:

1.Keeping backyard chickens is a natural compliment to a family garden. Chickens eat grasshoppers, aphids, beetles, and other pests that threaten to destroy a vegetable garden. Additionally, they supply excellent, natural fertilizer and free soil tillage.

2.Chickens kept in a clean, open air environment where they can forage freely produce more nutritious and better-tasting eggs than are sold in the grocery store. According to Mother Earth News, backyard chicken eggs have 25% more Vitamin E, 75% more Beta-Carotene, and as much as 25 times the Omega-3 fatty acids. They also contain about half the cholesterol of their factory-farmed counterparts. (http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/benefits-of-backyard-eggs.aspx#axzz2yaCmTcz6)

3. Keeping Chickens teaches children responsibility and allows them to feel pride in caring for the animals’ needs. Even young children can collect eggs and help clean the henhouse. Discovering how an egg is laid, and that they are not all uniform in size and color, then eating those eggs teach children valuable lessons they can’t learn in a book, movie, or video game. Watching a chicken grow from a day-old chick to a mature bird provides lessons in the life cycle of animals.

4. Eggs shared with neighbors bring the community together.

5. Chickens keep weeds as well as good grass trimmed. Small, attractive, mobile “Chicken Tractors” allow for the scheduled movement of a small flock to a new piece of ground every few days. This allows the chickens to graze on new grass and leave the previous piece mowed and fertilized to grow better grass.

6. Chickens are quieter, less destructive, and more “neighbor-friendly” than dogs.

7. A properly kept enclosure/coop with adequate ventilation will have no odor.

8. Keeping chickens can do a small part to ease a family’s grocery budget- Chickens can provide eggs most of the year, if not year-round, and can be sold easily.

9. Chickens in the backyard get children outside for fresh air and exercise.

10. People like to be responsible- they like to be able to provide for themselves, even if it’s just being able to get their own eggs. Being able to take care of your needs, even in the smallest way makes people happier at home and at work.